Cooling Installation For Liquid Colled Internal Combustion Engine For Driving In Particular Combat-type Vehicles

Abstract

A cooling installation for liquid-cooled internal combustion engines, in particular for combat vehicles, in which an air guide apparatus is arranged between an essentially circularly shaped heat-exchanger for the heat transfer of the cooling liquid and a coaxial inner radial blower; the guide apparatus has guide blades radially enlarged in a diffusorlike manner and is subdivided into guide channels in the direction of the blower axis which are axially enlarged in a diffusorlike manner from the air discharge surface of the blower to the air inlet surface of the heat exchanger.

Parent Case Text

This application is a continuation of copending application Ser. No. 713,350 filed Mar. 15, 1968, now abandoned.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a cooling installation for liquid-cooled internal combustion engines for the drive, in particular, of combat vehicles.

The development of high-power internal combustion engines has lead to a high power concentration in relation to the structural space. This, however, is not true for auxiliary aggregates and units and especially not for the cooling installation. Consequently, the space ratio of engine to cooling installation became evermore unfavorable. With combat vehicles there exists the additional requirement for an extremely flat type of construction of the overall drive installation. An enlargement of the available engine space results for the purpose of accommodating a cooling installation of conventional construction with a flat radiator block and with pressure-type or suction-type axial blower which runs counter the tactical requirements.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The aims underlying the present invention reside in creating a cooling installation that excels by a small, flat structural space, by a low weight as well as by a small power requirement. Furthermore, such a cooling installation is to assure a maximum heat dissipation.

As solution to the outlined problems a cooling installation is proposed according to the present invention in which an air-guiding apparatus having guide blades radially enlarged in a diffusorlike manner is arranged between an essentially circularly shaped heat exchanger for the heat transfer or heat dissipation of the cooling liquid and having flow channels enlarged in a diffusor-like manner for the passage of cooling air, on the one hand, and a concentric inner radial blower, on the other, and in which the guide apparatus is subdivided in the direction of the blower axis into guide channels which are axially enlarged in a diffusorlike manner from the air discharge surface of the blower toward the air inlet surface of the heat exchanger.

Significant advantages are achieved by the present invention. The entire casing surface, at the inlet side of the air, of the annularly shaped heat exchanger is loaded or acted upon completely uniformly so that the specific cooling output is improved compared to conventional cooling installations. Diffusorlike enlarged air channels result in connection with an annular radiator or cooler so that the pressure losses are very low. The increase in volume of the cooling air occurring as a result of heating-up is compensated for by the cross-sectional enlargement of the air channels. The cooling air guidance from the inlet side of the blower to the outlet side of the heat exchanger is solved almost ideally from a flow-technical point of view and is of optimal shortness so that a minimum of structural volume and power dissipation is realized for the cooling installation. The entire cooling installation consisting of heat exchanger, guide apparatus, blower and possibly blower coupling that can be controlled thermostatically, can be accommodated within the entire structural contour given by the annularly shaped heat exchanger. A constructively simple housing for the entire cooling installation results therefrom.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cooling installation for liquid-cooled internal combustion engines which avoids the aforementioned drawbacks and shortcomings encountered in the prior art by extremely simple and operationally effective means.

Another object of the present invention resides in a cooling installation for liquid-cooled internal combustion engines in which the space ratio of engine to cooling installation is improved and at the same time an extremely flat construction of the entire drive installation can be realized.

A further object of the present invention resides in a cooling installation for liquid-cooled internal combustion engines which not only reduces the power requirement but also the weight thereof while assuring maximum heat transfer.

Still a further object of the present invention resides in a cooling installation for liquid-cooled internal combustion engines which entails an improved specific cooling output while minimizing pressure losses.

These and further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing which shows, for purposes of illustration only, one embodiment in accordance with the present invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is an axial cross-sectional view through the disk-shaped housing of a cooling installation in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view on the cooling installation of FIG. 1, partially in cross section; and

FIG. 3 is a schematic partial longitudinal cross-sectional view, on a smaller scale, through a combat vehicle with a cooling installation according to the present invention.

Referring now to the drawing, wherein like reference numerals are used throughout the various views to designate like parts, and more particularly to FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 generally designates therein an annularly shaped radiator or cooler block within which is arranged a double-entry radial blower generally designated by reference numeral 11. The cooling air is sucked in axially, leaves the blower radially and is distributed uniformly to the inner casing surface of the radiator block 10 by means of a guide apparatus generally designated by reference numeral 12 and arranged between the blower 11 and the radiator block 10.

The guide apparatus 12 consists of guide blades 13 constructed in a diffusorlike manner which are provided with interior hollow spaces 14. The spaces between the hollow guide blades 13 are subdivided by means of circularly shaped air guide parts 15 into air channels 16 which are enlarged axially in a diffusorlike manner in the direction toward the radiator block 10. The guide parts 15 can be formed and shaped as simple sheet metal disks. The air channels 17 in the radiator block 10 do not extend radially to the blower axis and are enlarged in the direction toward the side of the air discharge of the radiator block 10 in a diffusorlike manner. The pressure losses are reduced by this air guidance to a minimum, to which additionally contributes the emphasized backward curvature of the guide blades 18a and 18b.

The cooling liquid is not only cooled off in the water channels 19 but additionally flows through the hollow spaces 14 of the guide blades 13. For this purpose, the hollow spaces 14 are in communication at the inlet ends thereof with a first annular channel 20 which is connected by way of a line 21 with the outlet side of the water box 22e of the radiator block 10. After leaving the guide blades 13, the cooling liquid reaches a second annular channel 23 which is provided with a line connection 24 as discharge aperture of the radiator block 10. The cooling liquid flows from the engine through an inlet aperture 25 (FIG. 2) into the inlet side of the water box 26 of the radiator block 10. The cooling liquid then flows out of the water box 26 in both circumferential directions into the water channels 19 of the radiator block 10.

By the arrangement of the annular channels 20 and 23, it is achieved, in addition to the further cooling effect of the guide blades, that the inlet and outlet aperture 26 and 24 of the cooling installation are located close to each other so that return lines for the cooling liquid requiring additional space are economized.

The possibility exists from the double blading of the blower 11 to utilize the suction effect, for example, of the guide blades 18b for the ventilation of the engine space. The ventilation channel of the engine space may thereby be adapted to be closed in an airtight manner by a conventional closure mechanism. The control of the closure mechanism can take place by being forcibly actuated with the control for the clutch of the blower so that with a nonrotating blower the ventilating channel of the engine space is closed. When driving through water, the flooding of the engine space can be avoided by the closure mechanism. It is to be kept in mind, however, that the blower is cut off only in the case of immersed driving during which the radiator housing is flooded. During immersed driving, the engine is operated at only partial load so that the cooling water obtained by the immersion is sufficient to prevent overloading.

As can be seen from FIG. 1, the housing generally designated by reference numeral 27 of the cooling installation consists of a disk-shaped base part and of a similar top part 29. The parts 28 and 29 are held together by bolts 30.

The disk-shaped base part 28 is provided with a concentric aperture 31 into which is inserted a bearing support housing part 32 for a drive shaft 33. The housing part 32 is provided with guide channels 34 for the cooling air. The drive shaft 33 is securely connected with the pump wheel 35 of a hydrodynamic coupling arranged within the rotor hub 36 of the blower 11. The filling of the hydrodynamic coupling is controllable in dependence on the temperature of the cooling liquid. The turbine wheel 37 of this coupling is constructed unitary with the rotor hub 36.

As can be further seen from FIG. 1, all parts of the cooling installation such as radiator block 10, blower 11, guide apparatus 12, annular channels 20 and 23 and blower coupling 35, 37 are arranged within the housing 27 even though the latter does not extend or extends only insignificantly in its dimensions beyond the structural contours of the radiator block 10, properly speaking.

FIG. 3 illustrates how a cooling installation, for example, according to FIGS. 1 and 2 can be arranged in a space-saving manner at the drive unit of a combat vehicle. Only the rear portion is schematically indicated of the combat vehicle whereby it can be seen from this Figure that the drive unit arranged in the vehicle trough 38 is formed by the internal combustion engine 39 as well as the shifting and steering gear 40 whose housings are flangedly connected together. The housing of the transmission block 40 is provided at its top side with a flat casing part 41 which corresponds in its construction and function to the base portion 28 of the housing 27 for the cooling installation of FIGS. 1 and 2. It is achieved thereby that the cooling installation can be accommodated in a particularly flat and small space, for example, directly over the transmission as illustrated.

In FIG. 3, the turret of the vehicle is furthermore designated by reference numeral 42, the air inlet connection by reference numeral 43 and the air-discharge connection of the cooling installation by reference numeral 44. Reference numeral 45 designates an air guide channel to the connection 44. The housing of the cooling installation is indicated in FIG. 3 by reference numeral 27a which essentially corresponds to the housing of FIGS. 1 and 2.

While we have shown and described only one embodiment in accordance with the present invention, it is understood that the same is not limited thereto but is susceptible of numerous changes and modifications as known to a person skilled in the art, and we therefore do not wish to be limited to the details shown and described herein but intend to cover all such changes and modifications as are encompassed by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

We claim:

1. A cooling installation for liquid-cooled internal combustion engines, particularly for the drive of combat vehicles, wherein the improvement essentially comprises substantially annular heat exchanger means for the heat transfer of the coolant liquid being adapted to flow substantially circumferentially within said annular heat exhanger means, said heat exchanger means including flow channel means for the passage of cooling air therethrough, blower means arranged centrally within said heat exchanger means for discharging the cooling air radially with respect to the axis of said blower means, and air guide means arranged between said heat exchanger means and said blower means, said air guide means being subdivided into a plurality of diffuser channel means disposed in side-by-side relationship in the axial direction of said blower means and axially enlarged from the air discharge surface of the blower means to the air inlet surface of the heat exchanger means, whereby said blower means is adapted to suck in the cooling air axially and discharge the cooling air thereafter through said air guide means and said flow channel means, respectively.

2. A cooling installation according to claim 1, wherein the blower means is a radial impeller having vanes extending up into the axial air intake zone of the impeller.

3. A cooling installation according to claim 1, wherein the flow channel means are enlarged in a diffuserlike manner.

4. A cooling installation according to claim 1, wherein the blower means has vanes curving rearwardly with respect to the rotational direction whereby the cooling air is caused to exit approximately radially therefrom.

5. A cooling installation according to claim 4, wherein the blower means is a double-entry blower.

6. A cooling installation according to claim 1, wherein the annular heat-exchanger means is substantially uninterrupted in the circumferential direction so that the coolant water flows substantially completely therearound in the circumferential direction.

7. A cooling installation according to claim 6, wherein the area of the annular heat exchanger means which is wetted by the cooling air is at least several times greater than the area wetted by the coolant water.

8. A cooling installation according to claim 1, wherein at least one guide blade means is constructed as additional heat exchanger for the heat transfer of the coolant liquid.

9. A cooling installation according to claim 1, wherein several guide blade means are constructed as additional heat exchanger means for the heat transfer of the coolant liquid.

10. A cooling installation according to claim 1, wherein several guide blade means are provided with hollow spaces through which flows the coolant liquid.

11. A cooling installation according to claim 10, wherein the hollow spaces of the guide blade means are in communication with a first annular channel which is operatively connected with a water box at the discharge side of the heat exchanger means.

12. A cooling installation according to claim 11, wherein the hollow spaces of the guide blade means are in communication with a second annular channel which is operatively connected with a line connection as discharge aperture of the heat exchanger means.

13. A cooling installation according to claim 12, further comprising a water box at the inlet side of the heat-exchanger means, a line connection for said last-mentioned water box, the line connection of the second annular channel and the line connection of the water box on the inlet side being arranged at substantially the same place in the circumferential direction of the annular heat-exchanger means.

14. A cooling installation according to claim 12, further comprising a water box at the inlet of the heat-exchanger means, a line connection for said last-mentioned water box, the line connection at the outlet side of the second annular channel and the line connection of the water box at the inlet side being arranged only at a slight distance from each other in the circumferential direction of the annular heat exchanger means.

15. A cooling installation according to claim 12, wherein the flow channel means of the heat exchanger means extend nonradially.

16. A cooling installation according to claim 15, wherein the cooling air stream of the blower means ventilates the engine space.

17. A cooling installation according to claim 16, further comprising a ventilating channel to the engine space, blower drive means, said ventilating channel being adapted to be closed airtight in dependence on the control of the blower drive means.

18. A cooling installation according to claim 17, wherein a housing casing of a drive unit forms directly the base portion of the housing for the cooling installation.

19. A cooling installation according to claim 18, wherein said flow channel means are enlarged in a diffuserlike manner.

20. A cooling installation according to claim 5, wherein the cooling air stream of the double-entry blower means ventilates the engine space.

21. A cooling installation according to claim 20, further comprising a ventilating channel to the engine space, blower drive means, said ventilating channel being adapted to be closed airtight in dependence on the control of the blower drive means.

22. A cooling installation according to claim 1, wherein a housing casing of a drive unit forms directly the base portion of the housing for the cooling installation.

23. A cooling installation according to claim 1, wherein said air guide means further includes guide blade means being radially enlarged in a diffuserlike manner.